Temperate North Atlantic from about 37°N to Baffin Island and Greenland in the western Atlantic, and off Iceland and Norway (66°N) south to North Africa (20°N) in the eastern Atlantic.Middleton.& Musick (1986) reported the isolated capture of 2 specimens from the tongue of the Ocean east of Andros Island (about 24°N, 77°W) in the Bahama Islands.

Habitat and Biology

Benthopelagic to bathypelagicin about 400 to 1200 m depth, but ranges from 180 to 2200 m.The species apparently undergoes spawning migrations
as well as diurnal vertical feeding migrations that may carry them more than 1000 m off bottom.During the summer months, it moves to deeper waters, returning to shallower waters in the winter.Spawning is believed to take place in summer and autumn, primarily in Icelandic waters. Females mature at around 60 cm, males at about 40 cm. Fecundity estimates range from 12 000 to 35 500 eggs per female.
Feeds on a variety of fish and invertebrates, but primarily on pelagic crustaceans such as shrimps, amphipods and cumaceans; cephalopods and lantern fishes constitute a lesser part of the diet.

Size

To more than 100 cm total length.

Interest to Fisheries

Catch statistics for 1986 in the FAO Yearbook of Fishery Statistics reported 31 538 t of which 12 604 t were taken in the northeastern Alantic (former USSR, ca.22 842 t, Denmark, ca. 1 121 t), and 8 242 t in the northwestern Atlantic (German Democratic Republic, ca. 4 500 t, USSR, ca. 2 700 t, Portugal, ca. 1 000 t, and others). A valuable commercial fish in the North Atlantic currently facing overexploitation.The flesh is of excellent texture and taste, and is consumed directly.The fisheries for the species, begun in the mid-sixties, is by factory stern trawlers, which may fish as deep as 1300 m. The Soviet Union, German Democratic Republic and Poland are the primary countries engaged in this fishery. Maximum catch per unit effort is achieved in the late summer and fall when the species form dense concentrations in 600 to 900 m depth. The total catch reported for this species to FAO for 1999 was 19 430 t. The countries with the largest catches were France (9 108 t) and Spain (6 224 t).